The use of hematopoietic stem cells for bone marrow transplantation has revolutionized the approaches used to treat a large number of hematological malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and immunodeficiencies. The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantations has also been successful in mitigating the effects of exposure to high levels of radiation. In addition, hematopoietic stem cell transplantations have been used to enable administration of high doses of cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents to patients who suffer from a number of solid organ tumors, thus enabling the repopulation of the bone marrow following drug-induced toxicity. The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to improve the rate of engraftment of solid organ transplantations is another recent application of this medical procedure. Recent studies also indicate that bone marrow transplantation may have value in the treatment of heart disease. These therapeutic applications of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation demonstrate the medical and economic impact of improving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, including methods for monitoring the efficacy of bone marrow reconstitution.
Radiation-induced lung disease (RILD) is a frequent complication of radiotherapy to the chest for chest wall or intrathoracic malignancies and can have a variety of appearances, especially depending on when the patient is imaged. Acute and late phases are described, corresponding to radiation pneumonitis and radiation fibrosis respectively. These occur at different times after completion of radiotherapy and have different imaging features and differential diagnoses. Methods for early detection of RILD would allow reduction in dosage and/or early treatment to minimizing damage to the lung.